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Aisa Villarosa Writes on Trump’s Potential Poverty Line Change

August 19, 2019

Former Fellow Aisa Villarosa (‘11) wrote an op-ed for the East Bay Times on President Trump’s proposal to lower the measure of inflation that is used to set the federal poverty level, which would result in fewer families eligible for food, health, housing and other assistance programs for low-income households (“Opinion: Trump Would Reduce Number Eligible for Public Assistance,” Aug. 2). “The Trump administration’s proposed inflationary measure would identify even fewer people in need, leaving more without access to a social safety net,” Aisa wrote. “Such a ‘fail-first’ system vastly decreases one’s chances at achieving economic stability and, instead, accelerates descent into long-term poverty.”